India's Nashik onion market is navigating familiar ups and downs, with red onion exports holding steady from Gulf and Asian demand, says Kiran Gandurde, Co-founder of Matoshree Fresh Foods. "Export-grade red onions are trading at USD 11-16.5 per quintal, rebounding from last week's USD 9-14 lows when heavy arrivals flooded the market. Demand dipped briefly last week but came back stronger."
According to Kiran, Nashik will see tapering red onion daily arrivals in the coming weeks. "Gulf countries continue to take the lion's share, while Vietnam, Colombo, and Malaysia also show solid interest. Bangladesh imports have dropped to 10-15% of last year's volumes as they focus on self-production, creating a gap Indian exporters must fill elsewhere," he explains.
© Matoshree Fresh Foods
Pink or Garwa onion season begins mid-March, bringing stronger demand from Africa and Malaysia, patterns that Kiran says emerged last year, too. He notes, "Exporters will experiment with early mid-March shipments despite typical new-crop tail quality challenges. Europe, especially the UK, demands pink varieties too, though ongoing rerouting through the Cape of Good Hope stretches Southampton deliveries by 5 to 10 days or 35 days in total. The detour will impact pricing more than quality, which remains reliable."
Looking ahead, the weather patterns introduce uncertainty for the upcoming rabi crop, Kiran emphasizes."There are predictions for March-April rains, which could really hurt the next rabi crop quality, potentially doubling demand for premium onions overnight and sending prices through the roof. In such a scenario, the Indian Government's market intervention will likely follow to stabilize fluctuations."
As Kiran wraps up, "Nashik's red onion trade shows resilience amid arrival pressures and Bangladesh's pullback, while pink season preparations balance weather risks with expanded market access. Exporters are already planning for exports and storage of the upcoming Garwa crop. We will carefully plan the variety shift through weather whims while logistics realities and trade policies decide who gains ground through spring."
For more information:
Kiran Gangurde
Matoshree Fresh Foods
Tel: +91 92 73 683 400
Email: [email protected]
